


Long Live the Supreme Leader

by rudbeckia



Series: After the last [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi - Fandom, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Assassination Attempt(s), Emotional Manipulation, Everybody is not nice, Extremely Dubious Consent, Force Choking, Hux is Not Nice, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, M/M, Post-TLJ, TLJ Spoilers, dubcon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-15 15:12:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13033818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudbeckia/pseuds/rudbeckia
Summary: Armitage Hux would be in complete command if it were not for one thorn in his side:Supreme Leader Kylo Ren.There is no other way. Ren must die.





	1. Humiliation Breeds Contempt

Hux felt his throat tighten and his hands scrabbled at his neck, pulling at his collar and popping it open. He got no relief but he still could not prevent himself from struggling. Kylo Ren watched, impassive.

“Do not interrupt me again, general.”

Hux found his airway free enough to suck in air for a hoarse whisper. “As you wish, Supreme Leader.”

Kylo loomed in his field of view, something wild in his eyes. Hux tried a gamble: reason had failed. Reason had led to his current predicament—dangling from Kylo Ren’s invisible grip with his airway half-shut, his toes stretching to reach the mirror-black floor of the bridge, and his cock stiffening of its own accord. And there was nothing Hux could do but wait for the Supreme Leader to get bored and drop him. He had a plan to shorten the wait. Hux wheezed for Kylo’s ears only.

“Let go. I’m getting an erection.”

Hux waited for the look of disgust, the sudden drop to the floor where he would remain on his knees for long enough to recover before facing the mixed fear and pity on the faces of the bridge crew, each one of them whispering about the scene later with the words _glad it wasn’t me_ shuddering from their lips.

Hux waited to be thrown across the bridge, to skid across the shiny floor or land in a crumpled heap on one of the consoles below the observation level. There, he’d be picked up and dusted down by his lieutenants before getting back to the real work of commanding an army.

Kylo Ren did neither of those things. The tightness in Hux’s throat remained, allowing him to suck just enough air. The Supreme Leader’s hand shot out at hip height and cupped Hux’s groin.

“You’re half right,” said Kylo quietly.

He couldn’t fight it. Hux didn’t know for sure if he _wanted_ to fight it. Once Kylo Ren had him fully hard, he gave a sneer.

“You want this.” Kylo ground his palm up and down the front of Hux’s trousers. “You want to be humiliated in front of your crew.” Kylo stood almost touching Hux’s cheek with his own. He moved his hand faster until Hux jerked and came with a croak in his tortured throat and his eyelids fluttering closed. Kylo dropped him to the floor. Hux landed and fell face down at Kylo’s feet.

“That is a more fitting place for you, general.”

Kylo walked away and Hux pushed himself to his knees, face burning and lips pulled back in a snarl. He looked around: every single member of the bridge crew stared intently at their consoles.

_Perhaps they didn’t see. Perhaps they don’t know._

Hux stood up and closed his greatcoat to hide the stain. He locked eyes with the officer on communications—she reddened and looked down.

_They saw. They all know._

Voice still hoarse and hands balled into tight fists to stop himself from rubbing his neck, Hux barked out orders for officers to prepare status reports immediately. Once their minds were busy with the task of pleasing him with the accuracy and efficiency of their reports, General Hux marched from the bridge to his quarters to wash and change.

One thought passed back and forward in his head. With each pass it grew from a feeling to an idea to a plan.

Supreme Leader Kylo Ren had to die.


	2. Blasted

Tonight. It should be tonight, Hux told himself. Why wait, once one’s mind is settled on action?

Kylo could not be allowed to see it coming. Hux planned—he checked his itinerary for the next eight hours and looked for opportunity. Close quarters, point blank, in the back. His blaster was always cleaned and fully charged, and always at his hip. Hux fingered over the smooth metal then buffed away the marks. He raised his blaster and sighted along his arm to aim the weapon at his reflection in his viewport.

“If it’s a quick death you want, I can help.”

Hux spun around to see Kylo Ren standing in the doorway. He holstered his blaster and sighed, pressed his lips into a tight line.

“Don’t you have some resistance scum to interrogate?” snapped Hux. “Or a ridiculously inefficient weapon to whirl around like some pointless showoff?”

Kylo Ren walked out. Hux cursed under his breath at his stupidity at the missed opportunity. He could have done it. He could have flicked off the safety and shot the Supreme Leader as he turned to leave. Instead he would have to manufacture a reason to see Ren in private.

The thought made his blood run cold. He should have shot the man in the back of the head while he was down. Of course, it would be more satisfying to assassinate Supreme Leader Kylo Bloody Ren himself, but sometimes if you want a job done quickly, you have to swallow your pride and call in an expert. Hux reached for his private commlink and sent an order. He did not have to wait long.

“Sir!” The captain’s salute was perfectly executed. Hux waved him in.  
“Captain Opan, thank you for your punctuality. Sit.”  
Captain Opan perched on the chair opposite Hux. Hux turned blue-green eyes on him and he felt his stomach lurch as his brain considered the reasons why his general might have called for him so late. He leaned forward a little and Hux rewarded him with a cold smile. “I assume you are aware that the recent change in leadership of the First Order has had a negative effect on morale. It is quite vexing and must be stopped.”

Tritt Opan frowned. “Sir? I’m not sure I follow. Do you need me to raise morale amongst the crew?” General Hux laughed at that and Tritt bit his lip.  
“Oh Tritt, I do admire your sense of humour. No! I can think of only one thing that will serve to raise morale and further the interests of the First Order. Kylo Ren must cease to exist.”  
_“You want me to kill the Supreme Leader?”_

Opan hadn’t been aware of moving, but he found he was on his feet with the chair tipped over behind him. Hux stood right in front of him.  
“Yes I do, Tritt, and when that business is over I will be Grand Marshal, and shortly after I will assume the role of Supreme Leader, and you will be one of my most trusted generals. How does that sound, hm?”

To Tritt’s ears, it sounded like a choir. If only... Something in Tritt’s face must have betrayed him. His admiration for—and fear of—General Hux must have flashed across his visage before he caught it and composed his features. He saluted and muttered, _”At once, sir,”_ and held his hand to his cheek where _Armitage_ had brushed the softest of kisses.

Captain Tritt Opan marched from Hux’s private quarters with a datapad containing the Supreme Leader’s official schedule for the evening and an order to return as soon as the deed was done. He doubted if it would be of use since Leader Ren kept to his own schedule that he did not see fit to share, but anything offered by Armitage was important. In his own quarters, he studied Leader Ren’s schedule and serviced his blaster. Then he checked the vibroblade Armitage had given him as a gift on the event of Starkiller’s successful firing, and his fake command cylinder containing a fast-acting neurotoxin. The blade he reluctantly set aside as impractical against a force-user and too bulky to carry as a good luck charm. The cylinder of poison he patted into place.

Blaster first. If he was caught, he could always write it off as a misfire during a private training exercise.

 

Kylo Ren liked to train alone. He whirled a wooden staff as if it was his lightsaber—if Rey’s saber technique was good then perhaps it was from her years as a scavenger with only her staff as a weapon. Even the Supreme Leader could learn from others, and assumed superiority and unquestioned omniscience had been Snoke’s fatal failings. Kylo repeated his movements, testing the balance of his staff and ending his routine by throwing it and reaching for his lightsaber. As it flew to his hand he felt a presence behind him, whirled and ignited the saber and deflected the blaster bolt that had been heading for his back.

He deflected three more blaster bolts just for the amusement of it, then threw the man’s blaster across the room and froze him in place.

“You’re one of Hux's men, aren’t you?” Tritt Opan could only move his eyes. He stared at Kylo Ren with fear. Ren stood close and Opan could see the sheen of sweat on his bare shoulders, feel the heat radiating from his flushed skin. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren smiled pityingly. “I see. He sent you to do his dirty work for him. I don’t know why you worship the pathetic snake so much, but I suppose you will tell me when you reveal everything else I want to know.”

Kylo Ren backed Tritt Opan across the floor until his calves hit a bench then let him sag onto it. Ren knelt in front of him, hand outstretched and a look of intense concentration on his face.  
“Hold still. Don’t resist me because there is no point. I will take what I want and you can’t stop me. It doesn’t have to hurt.”  
Tritt closed his eyes and tried to turn away, but there was no escaping the heavy fog in his brain and the painfully bright flashes of his recent memories being pulled forward. Sweat tickled as it gathered and ran down his face, and he shuddered as Ren assaulted his mind again and again until he was satisfied. Tritt sank down onto his side and slipped off the bench onto the floor, where he lay still.

Kylo Ren laughed in derision. “Learn this, Opan, your general may command your army but I command your general. You are his man but in turn he is mine. That makes you mine to command too. You are privy to your precious general’s hopes and fears and desires, and you will report them all to me. Understand?”

Tritt Opan felt himself raised to his feet and desperately tried to regain control of his limbs before Ren let go. He managed a weak salute and a quiet, _”Yes, Supreme Leader,”_ before stumbling and recovering and marching for the door.  
“I should have you executed with your general for high treason,” said Ren to Tritt’s back. Tritt halted and waited for the worst: a change in Kylo Ren’s mind that would result in his death at the end of a lightsaber. Or clutching at his own throat, eyes bulging and capillaries leaking red into his vision as his airway was blocked. But Kylo Ren only laughed again, more softly.  
“I won’t. Not yet. But it would do you good to remember that I will if you become less useful to me. Now go and report to General Hux that the Supreme Leader is alive and well and you are a failure.” Tritt heard a buzz and a swoosh and red light bathed the gym. “Who knows,” said Kylo. “Perhaps he will execute you himself.”

Tritt went back to Hux’s quarters as ordered. The door opened for him and he marched in and offered a salute before falling onto a chair and letting his head sag into his hands. General Hux spoke sharply.  
“Well, man? Out with it. Is it done?”  
“No sir. I... I failed. I shot him but he knew I was there, He... the blaster bolts... they were nothing to him!” Tritt shook his head and refused to look up into Armitage’s furious eyes. “He looked into my mind, sir. He knows. I am to report to him on your plans.”  
“You let him SEE you?” Armitage yelled. “That is the most INCOMPETENT action you have ever taken! I should demote you. I should reassign you to the furthest outpost of the most disreputable arm of the First Order. I should have you executed or—“  
Tritt waited with barely suppressed panic for his final sentence, but Armitage laughed.  
“So you are to be his spy in my camp? Very well. I will make sure you are well informed and have plenty to report to him. It seems that you will be useful to me in feeding him exactly what he wants to hear. Well then, Tritt.” Armitage laid a hand on Tritt’s heaving shoulder. “I swear that I will make no further attempts on the life of our Supreme Leader. You may report back to Kylo Ren that I have changed my mind.”

Tritt controlled his breathing and rubbed his hands over his face. Armitage’s hand remained on his shoulder and his face returned to a slight, amused smile.  
“I can’t possibly send you away in that state, Tritt. What can I do to reassure you that even in this compromised position, you are still valuable to me? Hm?” Tritt turned tired, red eyes on Armitage. Armitage took his hand and helped him out of the chair. “I appreciate your effort, really I do,” said Armitage, moving closer. “Do you want to come to bed with me? You can say yes or no. There is no right or wrong answer and there will be no repercussions for refusing me.”

Tritt felt his hand tighten around Armitage’s fingers as his heart leapt into his throat. His cheeks warmed and his voice failed. Armitage leaned forwards and kissed him once on the lips. Tritt’s mind raced. Say _no_ and have Armitage, whatever his reassurances, think he might betray him to Kylo Ren willingly. Say _yes_ and have Kylo Ren see his debauchery when he next chose to look into his mind. For some reason, that thought made Tritt snort with suppressed laughter, and Hux froze then released Tritt’s hand.

“I see. Very well. If the idea is ridiculous to you then you may go, Captain Opan. Report to me when Kylo Ren approaches you again.”  
“No! No, sir. I apologise for my inappropriate outburst. I promise, it is not the thought of sharing your bed that made me laugh.” Tritt covered his mouth with his hand and closed his eyes, hot tears that were nothing to do with his laughter slipping out anyway.  
“Then what is it, Opan! I command you to speak!”  
“What if... what if Kylo Ren looks into my mind again and sees... and sees... _you._ And _me._ Performing, um, _carnal, depraved_ acts on one another!”

Armitage Hux grinned and took Tritt’s hand again, tugging him towards his bedroom.  
“Captain Tritt Opan, I am _counting_ on it.”

 

Later, after Opan had been subdued and reassured by simple acts of pleasure that Hux was willing to perform then sent back to his own quarters with the instruction _next time Kylo Ren looks into your mind, think very hard about how my hot mouth felt good around your cock,_ Hux showered and dressed and ordered a service droid to clean his bedroom. He regarded Kylo Ren’s official schedule for the next day. Blaster bolts were clearly not the correct strategy and although Tritt was a useful assistant and a competent assassin, he was of no further use in this matter other than for delivering misinformation and taunts. No, someone else must be found: a more determined, more efficient killer whose motivation went beyond simple loyalty and the threat of execution for treason. Someone who had nothing left to lose and everything to gain from the indulgence of General, Grand Marshal and eventual Supreme Leader Hux.

Hux left his quarters and marched along the command corridor with his usual complement of stormtroopers at his back. He ordered them to wait outside as he used his personal clearance code to open a door set to admit only him.  
“How is our patient today?” He asked of the medidroid that held vigil over the figure in the bacta-suit.  
“The patient is stable and healing well. The helmet and prosthetics you designed have been manufactured to your exact specifications and can be fitted as soon as she wakes.”  
“And when will that be?” asked Hux. “How soon will our patient be... fully operational?”  
“The patient may be brought out of induced coma in ten hours. Current estimates of recovery rates suggest that she will be functional in three standard days.”

“Good.” Hux looked at the damaged figure lying in the bacta-suit, tubes feeding fresh bacta and siphoning away waste, pumps keeping blood flowing where it was needed, damaged skin healing over burns that would have killed a lesser warrior. He would have patted her hand, if she had one. Instead Hux laid his hand over the plastic face-mask that revealed the patient’s falsely calm face. A single strand of white-blonde hair sat out of place on her scarred and puckered forehead. Hux leaned closer.  
“Wake up Phasma, you live to fight again and I think you will like what I have planned for you.”


	3. Spaced

Hux woke with a yell from a dream in which he was held down, bound and about to be beaten. His feet were tangled in the sheet and he had to sit up to free himself before he could rise and shower the perspiration from his body. In the luxurious, astringent warmth of his private sanisteam, Hux washed the dream from his head and read nothing into the changing identity of his phantom assailant. The dream had first shown him his father gripping the front of his shirt and twisting, pulling him close and shaking him like he was five years old again and had got in the way. Then the hands that held him down while ropes coiled about his ankles were the gnarled, yellowed claws of Leader Snoke. But the final hand, the one that held the baton that was about to come crashing down on his body, belonged to a smiling Kylo Ren.

Dreams were merely a product of the unconscious brain trying to make sense of information. They meant nothing. Hux walked through his quarters and ordered tea from his service droid and picked up a datapad. Work would clear his mind.

It did not. Hux swore under his breath. Phasma was not yet ready to deploy and Tritt Opan was out of commission after a session at the mercy of Kylo Ren. He needed another option. Hux put his datapad down and sipped his tea while he mulled over the problem of Kylo Ren: what motivated the monster? What might bring him into line, or make him vulnerable, even for just a moment? His memory threw him a crumb.

_Do you think you got him?_

Hux called up his personal records of Kylo Ren’s history. There was not much, and much of what there was consisted of speculation. Ren’s hatred of the man he’d tried to obliterate on the red mineral flats of Crait was a mystery, but Hux filled in some details for himself with fanciful embellishments based on his own childhood.

Well then, thought Hux. If Kylo Ren was motivated by hate, then he’d get it for him.

Hux slept well after that and appeared on the bridge in a crisp, clean uniform and with his hair carefully swept back into regulation style. Captain Opan was absent and, in turn, Opan’s assistant deputised for him. Hux regarded the Petty Officer with a cool stare.  
“Petty Officer Paze reporting for duty, sir!”  
You certainly could not fault the officer’s presentation, thought Hux as he returned the smart salute.  
“Very good. Please call up visual records of the battle on Crait and have them sent to my office.”  
“Yes, sir. At once, sir.”  
Hux sighed. Tritt would have followed orders after a simple, silent nod of acknowledgement.

Hux knew what he was looking for and he found it quickly in the video log of Kylo Ren’s shuttle, which had been their command centre for the attack on the resistance hideout, and the feed from the AT-4Xs. He summoned Paze. When the officer puffed out his chest and saluted, Hux suppressed a sneer.  
“How are your holo-imaging skills, officer?”  
“Sir?”  
“Must I repeat my question?”  
“No, sir. Um, I am proficient in the use of standard holo-image and projection systems.”  
“I see. Sit down, officer.” Paze looked uncomfortable in his chair. Hux used his momentary inattention to look up the officer’s records. He leaned forwards. “Well then, _Lank.”_ Hux did a double take at the man’s name and his build and felt a brief stab of scornful pity. “Here is what I require of you.”

After a few minutes and a lot of questions, Lank Paze nodded.  
“Yes, sir. I can do that.”

Getting a tech crew was easy. Hux informed Peavey, who informed his assistant, who ordered a more junior Petty Officer to see to it that a holo-projection unit was installed in Airlock Five by the end of the shift. The tech crew, tired by their long hours and repetitive maintenance work, entered the name _General Repairs_ into the empty field on the job sheet, as they always did for missing names, to save time and get off shift sooner.

All Hux had to do now was get Kylo Ren to the airlock.

“Petty Officer Paze, my office. Now.”  
Hux used a tone that was never disobeyed, at least not twice by the same officer. Paze followed Hux into his office and stood with his cap under his arm and an apology ready for whatever reprimand he deserved. Instead Hux smiled at him.  
“Well done, officer. You did a very commendable job of concocting a convincing holo-image from the available data. I have another task for you. I need you to remain at security console three and follow this procedure as soon as I give the order. Do you understand?”  
Paze took the datapad from Hux and read it. He frowned and nodded.  
“Yes sir, it appears very straightforward.”  
“Well then?”  
Hux appeared to be waiting for something. Paze cleared his throat. “When you give me the code word _freezedried_ I am to operate Airlock Five remotely from the security console.”  
“Very good, officer.” Hux nodded. “And?”  
“And wipe the logs and say nothing about it.”  
“Excellent!” Hux waved towards the door. “Dismissed.”

He could deal with Petty Officer Lank Paze’s potentially loose tongue later, when Ren was gone.

It was Captain Peavey who held the bridge when reports came in of a strange apparition in Airlock Five. General Hux was meeting with the other senior officers and the Supreme Leader himself when Peavey’s alert arrived. Hux arranged his face in a slight frown as he apologised and called up Peavey’s report along with security footage from the airlock. Hux could not have expected a better reaction from Kylo Ren. The Supreme Leader leapt to his feet and set off for the airlock at a speed Hux would barely have thought his lumbering form could maintain. Hux followed at a more sedate pace.

Arriving at the airlock, Hux hung back and watched. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren stared out of the viewport of the airlock, pointed and bellowed.

_SKYWALKER! I KILLED YOU!_

Outside, floating in space just beyond the airlock, Hux knew there was a very lifelike holo-image of Luke Skywalker, bathed in pale blue and clutching a lightsaber. Paze had done rather well.

_YOU ARE NOT REAL!_

Hux frowned at Ren’s lack of action. He should have run into the inner part of the airlock by now.

 _NO!_ Ren was shaking his head. Ren was _shaking._

_THIS CAN’T BE!_

Hux sighed. He looked into the space between the safety doors and calculated his losses. Three stormtroopers, one tech assistant and one Supreme Leader. Worth it. He held on to a handrail set into the wall and said one firm, quiet word into his personal commlink.

_Freezedried_

All Hell broke loose, if Hell was the cold, sucking emptiness of space. Hux felt his feet slip from under him as the airlock opened. He yawned to let his lungs expel air and his ears popped, rendering him temporarily deaf to the screams of the figures pushed out into space by the rush of air from inside the ship. The safety doors crashed into place and the passageway gradually re-pressurised, causing sharp pains in Hux’s chest and ears. The sound of the airlock doors grinding shut again vibrated through the durasteel walls and Hux waited for the safety door to release.

When it did, Hux ran forwards with _Leader Ren!_ carefully distraught on his lips. The holo-projector unit, loosened from its temporary fittings, was a speck in the distance. Hux searched through the viewport for the figure of Kylo Ren floating with the life freezing from his eyes as his blood boiled away and the air that could not be expelled quickly enough bloating his corpse. Hux counted. Three white-armoured stormtroopers. One unlucky uniformed tech.

Kylo Ren’s face appeared right in front of Hux and he screamed.

Someone punched the airlock emergency override and Ren almost fell into the passageway. He recovered and grabbed at the front of Hux’s tunic, twisting the fabric in his grip and forcing Hux back against the opposite wall.  
“YOU DID THIS!”  
“Ren! Supreme Leader! I assure you—“  
“YOU. DID. THIS!”  
“Absolutely not! Leader Ren, this was an unfortunate accident. I will order an immediate investigation and have those responsible for this reprehensible lapse in safety court-martialled at once!”  
Ren backed off a little and Hux took hold of the wrist of the hand that still fisted into his uniform.  
“Supreme Leader, it was lucky that you were not blown out into space!”  
Kylo Ren glared at Hux but released him and walked away. Hux dusted himself down and walked in the opposite direction.

Hux went to his quarters to calm his mind after the failure of Space to claim Kylo Ren. He had one private comm from Captain Opan sent just a minute earlier: _Summoned to Supreme Leader. Will report ASAP._ In the meantime, Hux quietly ordered the tech team who had installed the holo-projection unit to be executed on the charge of leaving an airlock in an unsafe condition, and had their records deleted from the personnel databank. Three people simply ceased to exist and Hux put them entirely from his mind. Hux sighed. If only it was so simple with Kylo Ren. He ordered tea and picked up a datapad but concentration failed him. He delegated some tasks, checked on Phasma’s progress remotely and pulled his lips into a satisfied smile when he saw that her prosthetics were being adjusted by the medidroid.

He did not have to wait for long. Rather than the brief personal visit or terse comm he expected from Captain Opan, the door to his chamber opened, Kylo Ren strode in and reached out his arm.  
“No!” Hux stood up and dodged.  
Kylo Ren snarled at him. “You are not worth the effort, you sneering little whore.”  
“Oh?” Hux ventured a knowing smile. “I’ve been called far worse, believe me.”  
“Believe you?” Ren barked out a laugh. “I didn’t until I looked into the mind of the half-wit you usually have do your dirty work and found nothing to say that my experience was an attempt on my life. You know what I found there instead?”  
“I really can’t imagine,” replied Hux, coming out from behind his desk and walking around Ren to rescue his abandoned tea. “I am not privy to his innermost thoughts like you are.”  
Kylo Ren glared at Hux, face red and upper lip pulled into a lopsided sneer. “You sucked his cock to make him trust you. The fool thinks you want him.” Ren almost spat. “You are nothing but a manipulating slut.”  
“Well then,” said Hux with a bright, brittle smile. “It worked!”

Something within Hux snapped. He took a half-step closer to Kylo Ren and lowered his voice. “Did you see the part where I teased him until he begged?” Another half step, then Hux murmured, “when you looked into his mind, could you only see, or did you also _feel_ it?” Voice even lower, barely a whisper now. “Did it feel _good_ when he remembered the sensation of my tongue working on his cock and my fingers in his hole? Could you hear him call my name when he came on his belly with my hand clasped around his shaft and my mouth hot on his balls?”

Kylo Ren stared at Hux, lips parted, breaths shallow. Hux smiled and showed teeth.  
“Did you want to see what it felt like for me? Hm?” He pointed at his temple. “Did you want to look in here too? Find out how it feels to make that kind of connection? Oh!” Hux stepped back and grinned. “I forgot. You can’t because Snoke taught me to resist you! You will just have to imagine—”

The rest of Hux’s taunt was cut off by Kylo Ren pushing him roughly against the wall and kissing him, unpracticed and hard. Hux wanted to laugh, to sneer, but Ren’s huge hand covered his mouth. Ren leaned his forehead against Hux’s and closed his eyes. After a minute, Ren opened his eyes and moved back without letting Hux go.  
“I can’t see much,” he said, “and only what’s on the surface.”  
“And what did you see?” Hux asked, heart racing and awareness heightening, stomach lurching, voice a quiet breath.  
“I saw what you want to do. Now. Here. I saw you giving me pleasure like you did with your captain. Is that what you would do for me, Hux?” Ren’s eyes bored into Hux and Hux struggled to swallow. He sucked his lips, met Ren’s gaze and nodded slowly.

Kylo Ren stepped back, laughed and dropped Hux to his knees, then walked away.

Clearly, thought Hux as he lay awake later in his bunk, it would take something faster than a blaster and more powerful than the darkest void of space to rid him of Kylo Ren.


	4. Silenced

Tritt Opan stumbled from the Supreme Leader’s grasp and fell back, only to be caught by air that somehow became solid and slowly set upright. Kylo Ren waved and said _”Go!”_ as if a verbal dismissal was needed. He staggered for the door but paused to regain control before leaving. That much he had learned quickly by example from General Hux. He marched along the corridor, head throbbing and eyes barely focusing, until a familiar voice called to him.

“Captain Opan! What a coincidence. Would you wait in my chambers?”

Opan’s heart sank. General Hux needed him and he would be unable to assist. He would be of no use, and he knew first hand how the general treated those who demonstrated uselessness.

“Yes, sir,” replied Opan with the best salute he could manage. Hux came closer and spoke quietly.  
“You’ve been with him?” Opan nodded. Hux pressed his lips into a line and huffed through his nose. “Guards? Ensure that Captain Opan arrives at my chambers safely.” He spoke quietly again. “See that you get some rest. I will be there in due course.”  
Opan looked down in case a sympathetic glance might trigger a show of weakness and wished for Hux to go away, but Hux remained in front of him.  
“Look smart, Captain!”  
Opan dragged his eyes up and his hand into a salute. Hux regarded him with amusement and he felt his self pity drain away. He glared at his general.  
“Well now,” said Hux. “There’s my captain restored to his usual humour.”

Opan entered Hux’s private chambers and looked around. With nobody to wave at him to sit he stood until his vision greyed and he slumped onto Hux’s sofa. His ears rang and his head spun, and before he could do anything about it Captain Tritt Opan was out cold.

When he came to, aware only that he was fog-brained but warm and comfortable, he felt a hand heavy on his shoulder and another on his head.  
“Oh you’re back.”  
Tritt tried to sit but the hand on his shoulder prevented his struggle.  
“Oh do lie still.”  
“General—“  
“Hush. I have a plan and you are part of it.”  
“A plan? About the Supreme Leader?”  
“Indeed! I intend to—“  
“No!” Tritt pushed himself up for real this time and faced Hux, head still spinning. “You can’t tell me. He’ll get it from me. He’ll find out whatever you tell me.”  
“Well, yes!” Hux laughed. “Of course he will, if he looks. But that hardly matters. Lie down.”

Hux patted his lap again and Tritt frowned, but settled his head once more. Hux patted his shoulder and stroked his hair.  
“Sir,” Tritt sighed. “I should be back on duty.”  
“You are,” replied Hux. “I wish to discuss my latest plan with you. You have valuable experience that I need. If I am making you uncomfortable, you may sit up and we will use my desk. Am I making you uncomfortable, Tritt?” Hux’s hands kept up their gentle pressure and caress. Tritt closed his eyes.  
“No, sir. Maybe a little confused.”  
“Well then, listen to me and I will explain. Kylo Ren intends to take out a TIE. Not his own one, that over-powered TIE-Silencer he throws around as if he was a pod-racer, but one of the new Special Forces Superiority models. You know, with the twin hyperdrives. But you, my dear Tritt, are going to ensure that it suffers a catastrophically _fatal_ malfunction.”

Tritt twisted his head and swivelled his eyes to look at Hux.  
“Sir, why tell me! He’ll find out and stop you.”  
“He won’t. Why would he look at you again so soon? He has just invaded your mind and you are in recovery. And I feel—“  
Hux broke off and bit his lip. He looked away so that Opan could not see his delight. Once back in command of his features, Hux met Opan’s perplexed gaze with a gravity he did not experience.  
“I am responsible for this. Let me care for you, Tritt. Let me see you fully recovered before you go sabotage that TIE. You look like you have not slept in a standard week! Come.” Hux encouraged Opan to sit upright. “Not too fast. Let me treat you to my personal sanisteam and maybe... maybe something else, something even more _personal.”_  
Tritt felt his heart rate rise and his cheeks warm. Hux stood and held out his hand.  
“General. I—“  
“I think under the circumstances you may call me _Armitage,”_ said Hux, smiling. Tritt drew his dried lips between his teeth and nodded. He took Armitage’s offered hand and allowed himself to be led.

Tritt gaped at Hux’s personal ‘fresher unit. It was large, had black tiles flecked with something that sparkled when light hit them, and silvered fittings. It was warm and had nozzles that sprayed precious water laced with a woody-scented cleansing agent that foamed then rinsed cleanly away. Hux promised above the steady hiss of the jets and the low rumble of the pumps that once he was made Grand Marshal and could choose to promote his favourites, General Opan could expect similar luxuries. Tritt stood while Armitage helped him undress, then turned his back as Armitage also disrobed and stepped into the jets behind him.

“Something, wrong, Tritt?” asked Armitage, resting the flats of his palms on Tritt’s back, then sliding them down and around in a slow circular massage. Tritt closed his eyes, swallowed and tilted his head back.  
“Why are you doing this?” Tritt tried to turn and face his general but Armitage kept behind him.  
“Because I wish to care for you, Tritt.” Armitage moved his hands lower, slow circular movements brushing Tritt’s hips, and lower still. “May I?”  
“May you, uh, what?”  
Armitage laughed, low and quiet, and Tritt fought the urge to turn and push him against the wall, kiss him and claim him. He did not merit—  
“May I touch you wherever I please,” said Armitage close to his ear. “May I finger you and stroke your cock. May I suck you off right here: on my knees for my loyal captain. Or—“  
Hux stopped and removed his hands from Tritt’s skin.  
“No. It’s too much to ask.”  
“What, Armitage?” Tritt turned to see Armitage push his water-darkened hair back from his pale face. “What do you want?”  
“You could lie still on my bed and let me do all the work. You deserve it.”

The look in Armitage Hux’s grey eyes was too much for Tritt Opan. He followed Armitage through to his bedroom and lay down the way Armitage directed. He closed his eyes when told to and took a shuddery breath in when ticklish lips brushed against his throat. A soft laugh followed, then Armitage’s lips touched his own, first a mere brush, light and playful, then insistent and warm. Tritt parted his lips and raised his head, but the touch had gone and he chased empty air. Armitage laughed again, not with scorn or derision, but with something else. Tritt opened his eyes, Armitage lay nude by his side, smiling.

“What would you like me to do, Captain Tritt Opan?” said General Armitage Hux with a grin. “It is up to you. What is festering inside that head of yours? Hm?”  
“I hardly know!” said Tritt. “This is... this is beyond—“  
“Ah!” Armitage brightened. “Then let me choose. May I decide where this... encounter goes? Do you trust me tonight?”  
“Yes,” replied Tritt, closing his eyes again. “Tonight, yes.”

Tritt followed Armitage’s gentle direction, responding to kisses and caresses he had not thought his general capable of providing for anyone. Armitage lay full length on him, warm and solid, stroking his hair and placing soft lips on his face. Whenever he spoke aloud or moved as if to turn, Armitage murmured _hush, stay still, close your eyes, let me do this_ and Tritt would settle again. Unseen, Hux smiled with his surprise that this could be so easy. Tritt’s hand on his arse he allowed, taking the touch as a cue that the man was ready for more. He ground his hips down and watched Tritt’s face: mouth slack, eyelids fluttering but not opening, a smile tugging at his lips and lifting his usually stern expression into something softer. Hux pushed himself up enough to slip one hand between their bodies and clasp Tritt’s cock. He kissed Tritt’s lips then stifled a laugh when Tritt’s other hand found its way to his backside and squeezed.

He took his time. It was worth it. Next time Kylo Ren invaded Tritt Opan, he’d see how it felt to be cared for. He’d feel it: however false and fleeting this show of love might be, it only mattered that Tritt was fooled.

Afterwards, Hux cleaned up with kind words and smiles, and a repeat of Opan’s orders to sabotage the TIE that waited for Supreme Leader Kylo Ren to test his agility as a pilot. Once Opan had left, Hux thumbed his commlink and set into action a chain of messages that would end with Kylo Ren receiving information that Captain Tritt Opan had been in close conference with General Hux for the past hour.

 

Kylo Ren scowled at the message that flashed up on his datapad and yelled at his guard.  
“FIND CAPTAIN OPAN and BRING him to ME! NOW!”

A pair of red-armoured guards marched smartly away. They returned soon after with Captain Opan between them and slightly in front, a blaster pointed at his back. Kylo Ren threw him to the ground.  
“What were you doing in his chambers? Why did you not IMMEDIATELY report to me?”  
Opan felt as if a weight held him down and squeezed the air from his lungs. “I’ll tell you,” he croaked into the floor, unable to look up. “The general wanted to... wanted me to... to resume my usual duties, sir!“  
“LIAR!” Ren lifted Opan and pushed him against the wall. He splayed one broad hand over Opan’s chest and with the other he spanned Opan’s forehead. “You will reveal the truth. Don’t fight me again. Ah... my TIE. I see you did not get so far! Does he know you’re a failure? Does he suspect... Does he...”

Kylo Ren fell silent. Opan’s head swam as his memories and thoughts were ransacked, images and sounds, scents and emotions all crowding together, and over it all a feeling of warmth, of connection when he thought of Armitage Hux giving his cock languid strokes and kissing his lips. He let all resistance go, and Kylo Ren leapt back as if stung. If Opan could have looked, if he could have focused his eyes on the face of the Supreme Leader, he might have seen the faintest glimmer of uncertainly. But Kylo Ren picked him up like a doll and then dropped him back to the floor.  
“You are a fool. He feels nothing for anyone. He’s empty.” Ren stepped back and turned to face the door. “Perhaps you deserve one another.”

Opan hurried back to General Hux’s chambers and let himself in. Hux was waiting.  
“Well?” demanded Hux.  
Opan shook his head then held on to the back of a chair for balance. “He knew I’d been here. He saw everything.”  
“Everything?” asked Hux, a trace of a smile on his lips. “Well then, all is going to plan! Sit down before you fall down. I need you recovered for the next part.”  
Opan collapsed into the chair and looked up at Hux, a questioning expression on his face.  
“I knew he’d interrogate you again. Right now, Kylo Ren is being delayed on his way to the hangar. You are going to get there first and throw a multidriver into the plasma injectors of his ridiculous TIE-silencer too. Just in case.”  
“But he knows!”  
“NO!” Hux’s sharp tone startled Opan. “He _knows_ that I ordered you to sabotage his TIE and that you did not do it. Go now, and quickly.”  
Opan stood up and steadied himself. “You knew,” he said, quietly. “That’s why you... You _knew_ he’d see it—what we did—through me.”  
“Of course I did,” replied Hux. “Now go and do your job, captain.”

 

The Supreme Leader piloted his TIE-Silencer through a series of aggressive loops and spins, sending it around tortuous curves that hugged the outline of _The Supremacy,_ hanging silent in space alongside _The Finalizer_ and dwarfing the Resurgent class star destroyer.He tested its laser cannon against debris from the damage caused by the resistance and waste ejected at speed from the trash compactors, and wished for a more challenging target. As if at his command, the stark wedge of _The Finalizer_ came back into his sights and he aimed at the part of the ship where Hux had his quarters, before laughing and disengaging as the _Finalizer_ bridge crew panicked and Captain Peavey’s voice cut through his concentration to beg him to stand down. Temper dimmed for now, Kylo Ren sent the TIE into one more helter-skelter circuit of his flagship then engaged the docking tractor.

The docking light gave the cockpit a warm glow and Ren’s hands left the controls for the computer to manage. Something was wrong: Ren frowned and checked the computer and the power readouts. The TIE was not levelling out. It was coming in too fast and would impact the hangar force field at this speed, and disintegrate into a million shards. He grabbed onto the controls and pulled sharply. The TIE banked and bucked with the unbalanced power from the engines throwing it off course, tearing it away from the docking tractors. The solar collector nearest the hangar force field warped and crumpled like flimsi and Ren only just avoided a glancing collision with one of the external lateral cannon mounts of the huge ship. The TIE pitched into an uncontrolled spin and Ren used all his concentration to push away from the bulk of _The Finalizer._

Cursing through gritted teeth, Ren pulled the controls of the damaged TIE and came around for another approach. This time he shut down all systems, reached out to find the huge mass of the star destroyer and used it as his anchor. The larger ship spun in his vision so he made his TIE spin to match it. The larger ship approached steadily so he pushed it with the force until the TIE floated alongside, matching _The Finalizer_  in speed and orientation. Ren sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He closed his eyes, reached for the docking clamp on the hangar floor and pulled it toward him. Slowly, with a grinding that vibrated through the chassis and cracked the transparisteel window, Ren’s TIE-Silencer slipped into the hangar and settled on the landing area.

Kylo Ren composed himself and stepped out of the ruined craft. He marched straight to the chambers assigned to Hux and crumpled the doors with a gesture. Stepping over twisted metal, he walked right up to Hux and threw him into the air, holding him, watching his helplessly flailing limbs.  
“WHAT DID YOU DO!”  
“Nothing! I swear, Supreme Leader, I have no idea what you are talking about!”  
“TRAITOR!” Ren screamed the accusation. “I KNOW WHAT YOU PLOTTED!”  
Ren threw Hux against the wall and let him slide down to the floor, then held him there.  
“You conspired against me, and I found out from that rat you favour. You disgust me.”  
“I really have no...” Hux sighed and shrugged. “Oh all right, Ren. I wanted revenge for you humiliating me in front of my bridge crew. I set Opan up with false information about sabotaging that new TIE-SF you had your eye on, and both he and you fell for it. Who do you think informed you that he and I had been conniving? Hm?”

Ren’s hand shot out almost of its own accord as he tried to read Hux. Hux groaned and perspired with the effort of resisting and Ren gave up with a curse. Instead he gripped Hux physically around the throat and raised him up.  
“Did you. Sabotage. My Silencer.”  
“Me?” croaked Hux, “Certainly not! Do I look like I would have the expertise to do that sort of thing? You can’t blame every random accident on me. You’re beginning to look paranoid.”  
Ren frowned. He dropped Hux and stepped back.  
“He knows your mind,” said Ren with a sneer. “I told him about you. Your captain knows you manipulate him and you would have him removed in a heartbeat.”  
“Of course he knows,” replied Hux, rubbing his neck. “If he were a fool he would never have lasted this long. But for the moment he is mine and he chooses to be loyal. What else did you see in his recent memories apart from my ludicrous suggestion of sabotage? Something you want for yourself, perhaps?”  
Ren snarled. “I should have killed you by now. It would be so easy.”  
“Well then,” said Hux, standing close and glaring intensely at Ren, “go ahead. You need me to command my army or you would have done it already.”

Ren whirled and marched away, upsetting Hux’s desk and scattering datapads to clatter on the floor. Hux smiled and took a long moment to push Ren from his immediate thoughts then left his chambers. He marched to the medibay and entered, closing the door behind him and leaving his guards outside. He regarded the figure sitting on the edge of the bed with the eye of someone looking over a second-hand speeder.  
“Phasma! So good to see you up and about.”  
Phasma raised her scarred head and tried to push herself up with chromed mechanical arms to stand on chromed mechanical legs.  
“Oh don’t get up, I get hourly reports on your recovery. I only came to say that I am glad we found you. How are the prosthetics? Honestly,” Hux laughed. “I can barely tell the difference. Once you get your new helmet fitted you’ll be good as new!”


	5. Poisoned

Kylo Ren glared at Opan and Opan felt himself shrink back, every contracting muscle trying to pull him away from the Supreme Leader’s knife-edge anger. But despite his thunderous expression, Ren spoke with solid calm.  
“What scheme has he concocted this time, captain? Just tell me. I will know if you lie.”  
Tritt Opan swallowed, mouth dry and stomach churning. “I... He... Poison, sir. In the Jogan fruit pastries in your conservator. I have not done it yet. Here.” Opan fumbled his fake command cylinder from its pouch and handed it to Ren. “It’s still full.”  
“I see.” Ren turned away and opened his conservator. He called for a service droid to have the contents removed and incinerated, then canceled the order with a flash of a smile. He turned back to Opan, smile gone, and pointed at Opan’s head. “Anything else in there he wants me to see?”  
Opan looked down. Ren walked closer and reached out his hand.  
“You know I can look, so tell me.”  
Opan’s fists bunched the hem of his tunic and his eyes closed.  
“Oh you can commit acts that you can’t speak of! How sad that you find shame in pleasure.” Ren sent the briefest of touches into Opan’s mind and the man whimpered. “You should be ashamed, but not of your physical desires. You should be ashamed that you let him use you and then you go back for more.”

With his hand outstretched and quivering for effect, Ren told Opan to open his eyes, sit down and relax. Opan sat but hunched forward with his head cradled in his hands.  
“Sir, No. Please.”  
“Tell me what he did to you.”  
Opan shook his head slowly. “It wasn’t like that.”  
“Like what?”  
“He wanted me to do it. He said he wanted me to be rough with him.”  
Kylo Ren stifled a snigger and touched at the surface of Opan’s memories again. “Tell me.”  
“Please... Supreme Leader...”  
Ren jolted upright at what he saw, pushed Opan back into the chair and delved.

 _Opan thought Armitage looked tired. His voice sounded uncertain even to himself despite rehearsing careful phrases. “General Hux, sir, I request to have no further involvement in your plans regarding the Supreme Leader.”_  
_”Oh do shut up, Tritt,” Armitage said. “No more talk of Kylo kriffing Ren tonight. Join me in my sanisteam? I wish to discuss more stimulating matters.”_  
_Opan followed and disrobed, then got into the sanisteam enclosure. It was warm, pleasurable, sounded calm and smelled good. Safe. Hands on his skin, his hands on Armitage. Smiles and heady anticipation._  
_The jets turned off and cold prickled Opan’s skin. Armitage drew a finger down Opan’s chest, sending little shivers through to his core. “I want you to be a little rough with me tonight. Do you think you could do that for me?”_  
_”H... How rough?” Opan tried to hide his wariness. “What do you mean?”_  
_Armitage smiled like a loth-cat. ”I want you to pound me into my mattress like a siege cannon set on multifire.”_  
_”You want me to... to have you under me? You want me to—“_  
_”I want you to fuck me, Tritt. I want you to push me face down on my bed, slide your cock into my hole and take pleasure from the act. I want to hear your skin slapping on mine and feel you ram into me hard. I want you to come in me and refuse to grant my release until you are satisfied with your own.” Armitage grinned wider. “I’m ready for it. Give me your hand.”_  
_Armitage guided Tritt’s hand between his cheeks to the bulbous handle of a plug. Tritt laughed with embarrassment. Hux glared. ”Well? Can you satisfy me tonight or must I go elsewhere?”_  
_”No! I mean yes, sir. Armitage. I will do it.”_  
_”Good! One more thing. I want you to pretend to be Kylo Ren.”_

Ren lost all pretence of gentleness. Opan’s head fell onto his shoulder and his rapid, shallow breathing threatened to send him into a faint, but Ren did not let up until he had watched the entire scene through Tritt’s memory of it. He watched through Tritt’s eyes as Hux allowed himself to be forced to his bedroom, arms twisted up his back, and pushed onto his bed. He saw Hux held down by Opan’s weight while Opan unrolled a condom over his cock, then he witnessed Opan slowly removing Hux’s plug and easing himself in to position. He felt the welcome, soft heat of Hux’s body, heard Hux’s insistent and petulant yell of _”Harder! Faster!”_ and felt Opan’s concern that he might not be able to keep up the pace Armitage demanded. He felt Opan’s breathless exhilaration as he chased his climax, and his bliss as he came. He heard Armitage Hux call out a name as he came too, with Opan’s left hand around Hux’s throat and his right hand around Hux’s cock.  
_”Ah, ah... Kylo-o-o!”_

Supreme Leader Kylo Ren resisted striking the limp form of Captain Tritt Opan with difficulty. He stood up, letting Opan fall to the floor, and realised with disgust that the excitement he had experienced was nothing directly to do with the force, but that his body had responded physically to the secondhand events his mind had witnessed. He turned his back and brought himself quickly to an unsatisfactory climax, washed and put on clean underclothes, then ordered that the heap of humanity that was Tritt Opan be removed from his chambers. Two red-uniformed guards entered, picked up what remained of Opan and dragged him out. After a few minutes, Ren sent an official comm.

_The Supreme Leader commands the presence of all officers ranking General and above in one standard hour._

General Hux received the summons with some concern. He had his colonels, captains and lieutenants check and double check that everything in his command was as it should be, and the repairs to the damaged airlock and the TIE-Silencer were proceeding to schedule. He retired to his chambers and made sure that he was perfectly attired for a meeting with the Supreme Leader—his dagger slipped easily from the sheath in his sleeve, and his blaster was fully charged. He checked that the safety disengaged with a smooth _snick._

Supreme Leader Kylo Ren had not altered his ascetic habits on _The Finalizer_ since usurping that title. On _The Supremacy_ he could have received his underlings in the throne room that had so recently been cleared of Leader Snoke’s rotting corpse. Most of it, anyway, since Kylo Ren insisted on keeping the shrivelled, gnarled, claw-like hand that still clung desperately to the left armrest. But on Hux’s ship, Ren kept within his habitual boundaries. Hux paused outside Ren’s chambers, shook his head, pressed his code into the keypad and entered. Once inside. he gave his eyes a few minutes to adjust, then froze.

There was a small dining table in the main chamber where once Darth Vader’s mask sat on its pedestal, and it was set for two people to have tea. The crashing realisation hit: he was the only officer ranked General or higher in the accessible fleet.  
“General Hux, please sit. Tarine tea, isn’t it? You preference?”  
Hux frowned as Ren approached.  
“Go on, sit.” Ren reached the table and slouched in one of the chairs. He poured tea, took a drink and made a face. “It’s  weak,” he said, “I need something stronger.”  
Hux watched from his position near the door. “Ren, don’t waste my time. I have—“  
Ren’s hand twitched and the cover flew off the display stand in the centre of the table. Ren turned a smile on Hux. “Please,” he said. “Have a Jogan fruit pastry. I hear they are excellent.” Ren lifted one of the pastries and examined it. He took a bite. “Mm. I have decided, Armitage, that you need me too much to have me assassinated. The First Order needs me, and you know it.”  
“The First Order,” said Hux stepping forward with a snarl, “needs someone in command who understands how to make people follow orders. Leader Snoke united imperial factions that tore the remnants of the Empire apart as they fought for power under the leadership of petty, small-minded tyrants. I am—“  
“You’re not that person and you know it, Hux.” Kylo Ren took another bite of the sweet pastry. “I am.” Ren pointed at Hux with the pastry then took a third bite.

As he chewed, Ren coughed and sprayed crumbs onto the tablecloth. He held his breath until his face reddened, and he tumbled to the floor. Hux was over Ren in a flash, concealed monomolecular dagger shaken free of its sheath on his forearm and falling into his palm as unconsciously as a reflex. With his free hand Hux shook Ren’s shoulder.  
“Ren? Ren!”  
Ren’s eyes opened and he laughed. He pushed himself up and grabbed Hux’s wrists. “If you couldn’t bring yourself to put a blaster bolt in my skull when you had the chance, you’re not going to sink that blade into my neck either. Face it, Armitage, you need me or you will end up as insignificant as those in-fighting imperials like your father.”

Hux sheathed his blade again, clenched his fists and glared balefully at Ren. “What did you do with my Captain?” Hux demanded.  
Ren shrugged and picked up the second pastry. He chewed and swallowed slowly before replying, “I have no further interest in Opan.” Hux turned and walked to the door, but paused when Ren called his name. “Armitage? Think how powerful we could be if you stopped this pathetic game.” Hux looked round and met Ren’s intense gaze. Ren’s lips twitched once. “Have you no curiosity about why _I have not killed you_ yet?”

Marching as fast as he could, Hux went to the medibay. He walked in without knocking and took a rapid step back when the only patient whipped round and raised her weapon.  
“Phasma! You seem to have made an excellent recovery. The medidroid reports say that you are fit to resume duties.” Hux smiled. “How do you feel?”  
“Sir, what happened?” Phasma’s new helmet angled down as she flexed her prostheses and walked around the medibay. After a few seconds she attempted a two-footed bounce and landed with a slight wobble. When she tried again, the wobble was gone.   
“You were injured rather badly when the resistance sent a ship through _The Supremacy_ at light speed. Almost dead, in fact. I found you and had you brought here for personal care. I do hope you like your new... parts. I designed them myself.”  
Phasma’s head raised and she nodded. “Yes sir. I would like to resume my duties, hunt down and execute that traitor.”  
“Very good!” Hux nodded to the medidroid and barked _”shut down and recharge,”_ at it. He turned back to Phasma. “I am very impressed by your dedication, Phasma. However, I have one special task that only you can perform. Kylo Ren has betrayed us and murdered the Supreme leader in a treacherous attempt to usurp Snoke’s throne.”  
Phasma stood tall and silent, and Hux dearly wished he could see her damaged face to read whatever expression it held.  
“Sir?”  
“I want you,” said Hux low and clear, “to kill the traitor Kylo Ren.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was interested to know what you wonderful readers thought Phasma’s part would be so I made a survey.  
> Results in next chapter notes :D


	6. Finished

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The survey results were: 
> 
> Follow Hux’s orders because he rescued her and she feels loyalty to him 40.00%  
> Side with Kylo Ren because he’s stronger than Hux and offers her the best chance of survival 33.33%  
> Jump ship and get as far away from them both as possible 20.00%  
> Something else 6.67% 
> 
> When I was planning this fic, I was torn between two of the options. But I decided Phasma would do whatever it took to survive, and team up with someone else who will do whatever it takes to survive. 
> 
> And that means being far, far away from two dangerous people squabbling for power.
> 
> Heh.

Hux, bleary eyed and fog-brained, asked for the message to be repeated. Petty Officer Lank Paze, standing outside his general’s private chambers, cleared his voice and spoke as confidently as he could.  
“Captain Opan is no longer on board _The Finalizer._ There is one armoured troop transport missing from hangar four, sir, and Captain Opan’s access code was used to authorise its preparation and priority launch. He left no orders for me other than to confirm his absence and deliver this to you.”  
Paze held out a datacard and stared into the middle distance.  
“I see,” said Hux in acknowledgement, taking the datacard. “Dismissed.”  
Paze marched away. Hux closed his door and locked it, then slotted the datacard into the reader on his datapad. It contained one file and when Hux opened it, an image of Captain Tritt Opan appeared on his screen. When the file finished loading, Hux hit _play_ and Tritt’s likeness spoke.

_General Hux, please forgive my sudden departure. I assure you that I remain loyal to the First Order and to you, but I cannot remain under the direct command of both you and the Supreme Leader._

Opan’s image gave a weak smile and shrugged. Hux noticed the darkness under his eyes and the pale sheen of his forehead, the loose skin of his cheeks and the way his eyelids tended to droop.

_Perhaps that is treason. If it is then I will accept whatever punishment you deem necessary. I am taking a small craft with supplies and I am going to vanish. I will order Lank to bring you this message before I take the shuttle into hyperspace._

Hux sighed. Opan was a loss, but not irreplaceable. There were other officers who would snap at the chance to make themselves useful to their general. The image shifted as Opan looked off-camera. Opan’s face swept off the screen and was replaced by one that made Hux sit forward and curse. He called out, _”Phasma!”_ but she said nothing.

Opan’s tired, stern face returned.

_As you see, I have Captain Phasma with me. She told me of your orders and after some discussion of her options she agreed to join me. We will hunt down the traitor FN2187 and the rebel scum, and obtain for you the skulls you requested from Jakku._

Cursing again, Hux began the process of issuing an order for all First Order personnel to report sightings of Phasma and hold her captive until he could retrieve the ungrateful savage and ensure her compliance by fitting her with a cyborg implant himself. Unlike Opan, Phasma could not hide behind average build and a forgettable face. But the fact that his two most trusted captains had betrayed him was not something he wanted known. Instead, Hux entered orders and back-dated them by a few hours. Now, Opan and Phasma were officially acting on a covert mission under his command.

Hux summoned Paze back to his chambers and watched impassively as the man stood nervously just inside the door. “It seems there is an opening in my personal staff,” said Hux. “Paze, I want you to work for me. This means you are not to engage in any communication with the Supreme Leader other than through me, and you will report directly to me on all non-standard matters on a secure comlink. You will never question me other than for clarification of your orders. Understand?”  
Paze stood even more stiffly to attention. “Yessir! Behonoursir!” He saluted and returned Hux’s gaze for the first time since handing over Opan’s datacard.  
“Very good, Paze. Now, find me the location of the troop transport I ordered Captain Opan to take for his secret mission and tell nobody. Do this well and I will immediately promote you to Chief Petty Officer.”  
Paze beamed and took the secure comlink Hux held out. “Thank you sir!”  
Hux sighed. “What are you waiting for, Lank?”  
Petty Officer Lank Paze saluted again and left.

Lank Paze set to work immediately. At his console, whilst performing his other duties, he sliced the internal communications network of _The Finalizer._ Once he had universal access, a process he thought so uncomplicated that he ought to report to General Hux that the ship’s internal security should be upgraded, he set a few search algorithms running and flicked his display back to his normal task of monitoring life support. Nobody gave him a second glance: the black tunic of an enlisted man and lack of rank cylinders rendered him virtually invisible to the lieutenants who shared his duty rota. He found that he could switch between tasks with only a brief glance up now and then to make sure that Captain Peavey was busy elsewhere on the bridge. Paze wondered with a purely internal smirk if Peavey was one of Hux’s most trusted officers. He doubted it. 

It took a while, but Paze’s searches unearthed a few relevant hits. He expected there to be nothing from Opan’s comms other than the usual inter-officer trivia, and in that respect he was not disappointed. Other messages he filtered, glancing at the private messages of enlisted crew first and working up to higher ranking officers. He found nothing of note that would show where Captain Opan might have gone, but two messages he saved and forwarded securely to General Hux.

One: a communication from a stormtrooper section leader who was certain she had caught a glimpse of Captain Phasma in the hangar.  
Two: a message from the colonel in command of hangar nine telling a fellow officer that there were rumours that General Hux was to be replaced in the Supreme Leader’s favour by Grand Marshal Kalustar of _The Conquest._

Hux read the first message once and ordered the stormtrooper, her entire platoon and that of the stormtrooper who received her message, to be reconditioned. He read the second over and over with his heart in his mouth. _Grand Marshal Kalustar!_ A pompous old fool, thought Hux, hands tightening with rage until the datapad casing warped in his fingers. An imperial who missed the good old days and condoned the corruption of politics. Someone who knew Brendol and judged him harshly because of his parentage. He took a few moments to calm himself then sent Paze a reply.

 _Thank you for your good work. Please monitor inter-ship communications and alert me if you hear anything regarding either Captain Opan, Captain Phasma, Grand Marshal Kalustar or myself._  
Paze responded immediately: _Yes, sir. I would be in a better position to provide this sort of intelligence efficiently if I was assigned to the communications team._  
Hux read it and huffed. _Then you had better see to it quickly that there is a suitable vacancy. Please convey to Captain Opan, should you secure a communications channel, that I commend his actions and I would like to speak with him urgently on a matter of galactic security._

The events of the next standard day would provide evidence for whether his new assistant, chosen by necessity, was competent. Hux sat back in his chair and stared at the datapad on his desk. If it were true that Kylo Ren planned to replace him then he could not wait any longer: in the absence of Phasma and Opan, Hux had only one person he could rely on to get the job done. He would have to deal with the Supreme Leader himself. Stretching and sighing, Hux checked his weapons and ordered a shuttle to be made ready to take him to _The Supremacy._

 

Kylo Ren patrolled the perimeter of his throne room with a growing sense of unease. Snoke was gone, apart from the clawed hand that remained on the armrest of the throne, but his presence lingered in the sheer size of the chamber. Ren halted his pacing and walked to the throne. He peeled Snoke’s hand from the armrest and threw it across the room, where it bounced and rolled until it came to rest. With a snarl, Ren walked over and picked it up, pulled Snoke’s ring—gold set with obsidian from under his grandfather’s palace on Mustafar—from its rotting finger. He dropped the flesh and bone for a service droid to sweep up, and fitted the ring onto his own finger. His unease remained even when he sat on the throne and told himself that the Jedi were gone and the galaxy would bow to his command. He closed his eyes to meditate, but his mind kept returning to the same image: Supreme Leader Snoke with his cadaver hand on Rey’s head, ordering her to kill him and take his place.

Something about Snoke’s throne room on _The Supremacy_ kept Ren from settling. He stood up and yelled.  
_I completed my training! I killed my Master and took his place! I am the Master now!_

“Yes, yes I’m sure you did. Master of the Knights of Ren, aren’t you? Where are your mysterious knights?”  
Ren whirled around to see Hux standing at the end of the walkway that led to the throne. Hux smirked at him. “I thought you said the girl killed Snoke and the entire Praetorian Guard. Were you lying then, or are you lying now?”  
Kylo Ren sat back down on his throne and glared at Hux. Hux walked closer, wondering why he could still breathe. “Well then. I suppose I don’t care who killed Snoke as long as his successor is up to the job. If you are to be Supreme Leader, I certainly would not advise that you have me replaced by Kalustar. He’s an idiot.”  
Ren frowned at Hux. “Who?”  
Hux frowned back. “Grand Marshal Kalustar of _The Conquest._ The buffoon you are considering replacing me with.”  
“Oh?” Ren shrugged. “Am I? Is this because you’re a failure and he isn’t?” Ren made a show of reclining more comfortably on the throne. “What is it this time. Let me guess. So far you have failed to shoot me, failed to have someone else shoot me, failed to dispose of me through an airlock, failed to have me disintegrate in my TIE, failed to poison me and failed to stab me. What’s left, Armitage?” Hux seethed in silence and Ren smiled. “Face it. If I can dispose of Snoke and the entire Praetorian Guard, I can dispose of your personal stormtrooper firing squad. Ah! So predictable. I will make a deal, Armitage. Dismiss them and save their lives, then I will fight you. Your blaster against my lightsaber.”

Hux gave a barely perceptible nod and Ren, sensing his intent before Hux even gave a hint of a gesture, sealed the throne room with a wave of his hand. Hux snatched his blaster from its holster and let off an extended volley of blue plasma. Ren’s lightsaber was already in his hand and he deflected every shot to crackle and char on the walls. Ren’s advance outpaced Hux’s retreat, sweep after sweep of his blade parrying plasma bolt after plasma bolt. A hot buzz seared in front of Hux’s face and he realised with a jolt of panic that he was within reach of Ren’s lightsaber. He threw his blaster at Ren’s head and used the distraction to leap into Ren’s space where a lightsaber swing was impossible, one hand fisting in his hair and pulling his head back, the other smashing into his nose.

The lightsaber clattered to the floor and deactivated. Hux tried to punch Ren again but his hand stopped before his fist could connect. Ren’s left hand clamped around Hux’s right fist and pushed back, and Ren’s right arm locked tightly around Hux’s neck, holding him close. Ren stepped back pulling him off balance. Hux realised with fury that Ren was laughing despite the bright red droplets that fell from his nose and splashed on the black, polished floor. Hux made one more attempt to wrench himself free of Ren’s grip but Ren swept his feet from under him and they both crashed to the floor.

“Who would have thought that the rabid cur could fight!” Ren said aloud, then spoke more quietly, his mouth close to Hux’s ear. Hux struggled but could not move, and Ren’s grip tightened even further with every squirming twist. “I know you’re not the pathetic, snapping creature Snoke said you were. He must have known that if I had someone at my side I’d surpass him. My training was complete the instant I realised I am not alone, and that gave me the strength to cut the old bastard in half.” Ren paused for a deep breath. “Armitage, give up your fantasy of assassination and rule. You need me on that throne or imperials like Kalustar will band together to drown you. I want you to command my... _our_ army.” Ren regarded Hux’s red face, narrowed eyes, flared nostrils and gritted teeth. “Snoke held you back, didn’t he? Set us at each other’s throats and you fell for it. Stand with me and command our army, _Grand Marshal,_ and we will enforce order on the entire galaxy. What do you say, Armitage?”

Hux struggled against Ren. “I am saying nothing more while I am restrained like an animal,” he said, glaring at Ren. Ren released him slowly but did not let him rise.  
“Do you accept my offer?”  
“It’s a cheap bribe,” said Hux. “You offer to promote me to a rank I should have had already by right. And in return I... what? Continue to do my duty?”  
“I promote you to the rank you deserve and you agree to become my most trusted advisor. Think of the power you will have! In return,” Ren said with a hint of a smile. “You accept that I deserve the title Supreme Leader and stop trying to kill me.”

Ren kept Hux on the floor for a silent minute, feeling around the edges of his resolve. Sensing fluctuation in Hux’s intentions, Ren stroked Hux’s face and kissed him once.  
“Do you think your usefulness as a military leader is the only reason I did not kill you as soon as Snoke was dead?” said Ren, keeping the smirk from his face. “The messages you sent me through Opan were clear. I am... open to that aspect of our... working relationship.”  
Hux sighed and covered his face. Ren stifled his triumph.

 

======

Chief Petty Officer Lank Paze knocked on the door of the Grand Marshal’s private chambers and waited for the beep that signalled that he may enter. He saluted smartly as soon as he was inside and waited for the door to close.  
“Well?” Hux snapped, “What is so important that it warrants a personal visit?”  
“Sir,” Paze slid a datapad onto Hux’s desk. Hux frowned at it. “I intercepted this transmission between _The Conquest_ and a ship that shows up on scans as an unregistered freighter. It appears that Grand Marshal Kalustar met with an unfortunate accident. He, um, died of a sudden and catastrophic allergic reaction to jogan fruit paste.”  
“Oh?” Hux shook his head sadly. “I must send my condolences. Is that all?”  
“Um, no sir. The unregistered freighter had First Order codes. New ones, sir. Someone is feeding the pilot First Order security information.”  
“Really? Well. I will have that investigated. Thank you, Lank. You may—“  
“Sir! The occupants were described as _a man of average build and looks, and A TALL BLONDE WOMAN WITH CHROME PROSTHETIC LIMBS HIDDEN UNDER STORMTROOPER ARMOUR!_ Sir, don’t you think—“  
“PAZE!” Hux stood to yell at his assistant. “That will be all. Make sure all records that might implicate Opan and Phasma are permanently redacted. Understand? Do I need to remind you to say nothing of this matter ever again?”  
“Yes, sir! No, sir!”  
“Well then.” Hux made shooing motions with his hand. Paze saluted and left.

Once the door had closed and locked, Kylo Ren’s voice called through from the rooms behind Hux’s private office and his face peered around the door.  
“Jogan fruit paste! The man has no imagination.”  
“But he is effective. I consider it a good move on my part to have paired Opan with Phasma for _special_ assignments. Now,” Hux looked at the information on Paze’s datapad. “Hm. There are reports of rebel activity near that deplorable den of iniquity, Canto Bight. And Admiral Sheniac has been stirring up trouble in the upper ranks of the navy. He disputes your status as Supreme Leader in favour of _one of us old boys from the imperial days.”_  
Ren inclined his head. “I would like to hear my Grand Marshal’s opinion before I make a decision.”  
Hux raised his eyebrows. “Rea— Well then. Since many of the First Order’s backers and weapons dealers spend a great deal of time and money in Canto Bight, I recommend an unobtrusive initial approach. Opan and Phasma can handle preliminary investigations on the ground without alerting local police. However, I think the Navy needs to be reminded of the sovereignty of the Supreme Leader. Perhaps a personal audience with you would change the minds of Sheniac and anyone he may have influenced. What do you intend to do, supreme leader?”

Ren nodded once. “I intend to take the advice of my Grand Marshal,” he said, “as long as I agree with it. Make sure Phasma and Opan know that if the girl is there she is to be brought to me alive and unharmed.”  
“At once, Supreme Leader.”  
“Sarcasm suits you so well, Armitage,” said Ren, smiling at last. “Now I command you to come back to bed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Captain Opan and Captain (Robo!)Phasma will return in another fic that I want to write just for them.


End file.
